Stormy weather. Unsettled skys. Wind whipping around like a Tilt-A-Whirl. Such is this Monday in April. Living in Tornado Alley is not nearly as much fun as a bowling alley. It does not have the drama of Dorothy and Toto’s ride in a Twister in The Wizard of Oz. Or, as one nurse said to another just before I went in for my Colonoscopy… what do we do if the power goes out… do we have a generator? Comforting words before the lights go off.

So we ask, ‘Do we have a generator?’ Usually, this is just before the power goes off. It has been said that you never miss the water until the well goes dry. Have you checked your well…lately?

Life brings us joy and strife, wonder and worry…peace and palpitations. We either focus on the good things that are happening or we mull over the bad on an incessant loop of the greatest hits. What we truly require is a plan for the bad days.

Many are in the background of the scene. They work to make life better for others. They seek neither praise nor recognition for their efforts. Quietly, they do their work. They feel deeply. I spent my career in Building Services, which is the housekeeping department at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. Of the 400 staff we had at our zenith, over 200 were student employees. Many from foreign lands. Our full-time staff treated their student colleagues as family. They brought them food to eat and took them home for the holidays. They were interested in their students’ families ‘academic success and rejoiced when they did well.

We can be the Generator that is crucial to the success of our environment. A plan of volunteerism for introverts. The quietest person in the room may have the best idea. Many have to be asked their opinion directly, and then they might offer it reluctantly.

Leaders would be well advised to seek the help of the grounds worker, the custodian, and the food service worker at the university. They live the nearest to what the students are experiencing. The quiet ones know what works and what does not.